Olympia: Part One – Festival of the Nations

• 6.8 Documentary
• 1938-04-21
• 127 minutes mins

Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. This first half of her two-part film opens with a renowned introduction that compares modern Olympians to classical Greek heroes, then goes on to provide thrilling in-the-moment coverage of some of the games' most celebrated moments, including African-American athlete Jesse Owens winning a then-unprecedented four gold medals.

Starring:

David Albritton (Self - High Jump, USA (uncredited)) Arvo Askola (Self - 10000 Metres, Finland (uncredited)) Jack Beresford (Self - Carries British Flag (uncredited)) Erwin Blask (Self - Hammer Throw, Germany (uncredited)) Sulo Bärlund (Self - Shot Put, Finland (uncredited)) Ibolya Csák (Self - High Jump, Hungary (uncredited)) Glenn Cunningham (Self (uncredited)) Henri de Baillet-Latour (Self - IOC, Stands with Hitler, with Hurdlers (uncredited)) Philip Edwards (Self - 800 Metres, Canada (uncredited)) Donald Finlay (Self - 110m Hurdles, Great Britain (uncredited))

Director:

Leni Riefenstahl

Writer:

Leni Riefenstahl